H.B. teens' project raises funds for ailing NBA referee

All of that changed on a June night last year, when Greg Willard was unable to go to work.

Willard, 54, is a longtime Huntington Beach resident who has officiated in the NBA since 1988. He has refereed more than 1,000 NBA games and more than 100 playoff games.

He's also known for mediating the occasional community tiff, as well as organizing the neighborhood Fourth of July parties. And he's been a role model to Nuzzo and others.

So when 17-year-old Nuzzo got the word in June that Willard would have to battle pancreatic cancer, putting a halt to his career and community involvement, she knew she was going to join that battle.

And on Sunday, as a means to fulfill their Edison High School senior class project and support Willard, Nuzzo and partner Karly Freeman put on the Cheers to a Cure event, raising thousands of dollars that they will donate to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

REFEREE BETTER KNOWN FOR HIS WORK OFF THE COURT

Willard is often tabbed as an icon in Huntington Beach, but not because of his NBA legacy.

It's the La Cuesta Fiesta that made him famous.

"He would lead a pack of 60 to 80 kids in his Uncle Sam outfit on Fourth of July in this huge party he put on every year," said Jerry Nuzzo, Kailea Nuzzo's father and Willard's longtime friend. "He was just a guy that didn't get embarrassed to be a kid."

La Cuesta is the Huntington Beach enclave in which the Willard and Nuzzo families reside and where Willard and Jerry Nuzzo created a bond through their volunteer work.

As Jerry Nuzzo recalled, he and Willard were the only two men who volunteered at Hawes Elementary School in Huntington Beach, where their children once attended.

"Our kids grew up together and we started coaching basketball together, against each other and with each other," Nuzzo said. "He traveled a lot but helped out whenever he could."

Willard's legendary Independence Day extravaganza takes place annually during the NBA offseason. But in February of last year, Willard began to feel sick.

Jo Pitman, Willard's mother, said he was checked out by NBA doctors, some of whom suggested Willard was simply training too hard. He took a blood test before a June playoff game and was informed shortly thereafter that he would be unable to work that evening.

He had pancreatic cancer.

CANCER FIGHT IS PERSONAL FOR NUZZO, FREEMAN

News spread throughout the community of Willard's illness.

"That was a shock because he's always been a stud to us," Jerry Nuzzo said. "We would say, 'Hey, there's our neighbor running up and down the court with those pro athletes.' An NBA ref, that's something. All the kids look up to him."

Kailea Nuzzo knew that the senior class project she had long deliberated was destined to be dedicated to her family friend.

"I've known Greg since I was little, and a lot of my childhood memories revolve around him," she said. "He was always involved in the community. I wanted to do something for him since he's always been there for us."

At the time, Nuzzo's closest friend, Karly Freeman, had an idea for a senior class project dedicated to her uncle, who died of pancreatic cancer. She wanted to hold a small wine pairing event in her back yard with her family and friends.

But once Nuzzo came on board, suggesting that the event be in honor of Freeman's uncle and of Willard, the two decided to increase their efforts.

"My uncle passed from pancreatic cancer three years ago and we were really close, so I knew I wanted to do something for him," said Freeman, 18. "It just worked out that my best friend wanted to do something for Greg.

"Our teachers were surprised by what we were doing because of the wine," she said. "But they knew Greg and saw the support we were getting. Kailea is the one that made it into something amazing. She's the best partner I could ever ask for."

Beginning in September, Freeman and Nuzzo began to solicit the help of nearly every friend and friend of a friend in Huntington Beach. The event would be titled Cheers to a Cure.

Little did they know how much weight Greg Willard's name would carry.

"Greg is such big part of the community that everyone was willing to help," Nuzzo said. "I was getting random emails from people I don't know. It was insane how much support we got, right off the bat."

EVENT DRAWS BIG CROWD, PLENTY OF DONATIONS

Freeman and Nuzzo, through their own fundraising efforts, raised $6,000 to rent out the Huntington Beach Art Center on Sunday for a wine pairing event and silent auction.

"Greg was extremely excited when he heard and the first thing he did was ask how he could help, but we didn't want him to do anything and just watch all the support he'd get," Nuzzo said.

They sold more than 250 tickets to the event, raising $2,000, and the starting bids for the silent auction equaled $5,000. Silent auction prizes included a one-week trip to Indonesia, Los Angeles Lakers tickets, Stagecoach Country Music Festival tickets, Rihanna tickets, autographed sports memorabilia and custom bikes and surfboards.

"Asking, asking and asking," Freeman said when asked how they acquired the auction prizes.

All of the money from the event would be donated to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, a nonprofit advocacy group for the illness.

Five volunteers from the group were on hand, including 10-year survivor Roberta Luna.

"To know this has all been done by two high school students, it's amazing," Luna said. "You hear so many things about what's wrong with our youth, and this proves to me there is nothing wrong with our youth. I'm speechless."

On Wednesday, Kailea and Karly learned that the event raised $25,033.

Willard was unable to attend Sunday's event, but his friends and family were on hand, including his son Bryce Willard, 20.

"He would be breaking down in tears if he were here," Bryce said of his father. "He would give anything to the community, so for him to get something back, he'd be blown away."

Nuzzo and Freeman said the highlight of the day was a moment shared with Willard's mother.

"She came up to us and asked if we were the girls that put on the event," Freeman said. "We just all smiled and we had a group hug.